Narrow Results

Generalized parton distributions can be used to obtain information about the dependence of parton distributions on the impact parameter. Potential consequences for T-odd single-spin asymmetries are discussed.

The investigation of the partonic degrees of freedom beyond collinear approximation (3D description) has been gained increasing interest in the last decade. At the HERMES experiment, azimuthal asymmetries in hard exclusive reactions and in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering of electrons and positrons off a (polarized) hydrogen and deuterium target have been measured. Such asymmetries provide new insights on crucial aspects of the parton dynamics. By measuring various hadron types in the initial and final states, flavor sensitivity is achieved. Non zero signals are reported for azimuthal asymmetries with respect the transverse target polarization in real-photon exclusive-electroproduction, which are related (still in a model dependent way) to the elusive quark orbital motion. Evidence is reported of the poorly known transversity function and of naive-T-odd transverse-momentum-dependent parton distribution functions related to spin-orbit effects. Evidence of spin-orbit effects in quark fragmentation is also observed, which are opposite in sign for favored and disfavored processes.

For transversely polarized nucleons the distribution of quarks in the transverse plane is transversely shifted and that shift can be described in terms of Generalized Parton Distributions (GPDs). This observation provides a 'partonic' derivation of the Ji-relation for the quark angular momentum in terms of GPDs. Wigner distributions are used to show that the difference between the Jaffe-Manohar definiton of quark orbital angular momentum and that of Ji is equal to the change of orbital angular momentum due to the final state interactions as the struck quark leaves the target in a DIS experiment.

Definitions of orbital angular momentum based on Wigner distributions are used to discuss the connection between the Ji definition of the quark orbital angular momentum and that of Jaffe and Manohar. The difference between these two definitions can be interpreted as the change in the quark orbital angular momentum as it leaves the target in a DIS experiment. The mechanism responsible for that change is similar to the mechanism that causes transverse single-spin asymmetries in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering.

The investigation of the partonic degrees of freedom beyond collinear approximation (3D description) has been gained increasing interest in the last decade. The Thomas Jefferson National Laboratory, after the CEBAF upgrade to 12 GeV, will become the most complete facility for the investigation of the hadron structure in the valence region by scattering of polarized electron off various polarized nucleon targets. A compendium of the planned experiments is here presented.

Definitions of orbital angular momentum based on Wigner distributions are used to discuss the connection between the Ji definition of the quark orbital angular momentum and that of Jaffe and Manohar. The difference between these two definitions can be interpreted as the change in the quark orbital angular momentum as it leaves the target in a DIS experiment. The mechanism responsible for that change is similar to the mechanism that causes transverse single-spin asymmetries in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering.

Generalized transverse-momentum dependent parton distributions (GTMDs) encode the most general parton structure of hadrons. In this contribution, which is largely based on a recent publication,¹ we focus on two twist-2 GTMDs which are denoted by F_1,4 and G_1,1 in parts of the literature. As already shown previously, both GTMDs have a close relation to orbital angular momentum of partons inside a hadron. However, recently even the mere existence of F_1,4 and G_1,1 has been doubted. We explain why this claim does not hold. We support our model-independent considerations by calculating the GTMDs in two spectator models and in perturbative QCD. For the model results we also explicitly check the relation to the orbital angular momentum of partons inside hadrons.

COMPASS collaboration has started in 2012 a five-year program of new measurements, which are outlined in the 'COMPASS-II' proposal. The two new major projects of the proposal are measurements of polarized Drell-Yan process in π^- scattering off transversely polarized protons and studies of GPDs via measurements of Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering and Hard Exclusive Meson Production in muon scattering off a liquid hydrogen target. In addition, high statistics SIDSI measurements with muon beams and a study of charged pion and kaon polarizabilities via Primakoff reactions with hadron beams are also foreseen as a part of this program.

Deeply virtual Compton scattering process was studied widely at the HERMES experiment through measurements of various cross-section asymmetries. These measurements exploited the rich data collected at HERMES on scattering a longitudinally polarized lepton (electron/positron) beam off unpolarized, longitudinally and transversely polarized hydrogen targets, unpolarized and longitudinally polarized deuterium targets, as well as unpolarized nuclear targets. The operation of a recoil detector during the last two years of HERMES running enabled for the full kinematic reconstruction of the events of exclusively produced real photons and a clean (with a background well below the 1$\%$) measurement of the beam-helicity asymmetry. Also, first measurement of the beam-helicity asymmetry related to the associated deeply virtual Compton scattering process, where the proton is excited to a $\mathrm{\Delta }$-resonance state, was possible using the recoil detector information.